Dr. Joe Gaston is joined in the studio by Physical Education faculty, Dr. Craig Parks and Dr. Shelly Holden. Dr. Parks discusses his internal grant funded research exploring student attrition from undergraduate physical education programs, as a microcosm of the trend in declining undergraduate enrollment and program completion. Dr. Holden talks about lessons learned from the EdTPA portfolio evaluation and the effort to make the process and outcome more indicative of actual preservice teacher competencies and abilities.

This is the second in a two part episode where we hear directly from high school students in teacher preparation academies about what motivates them to pursue teaching as a career. Drs. Joe Gaston and Susan Ferguson continue the conversation with guest Dr. Allan Allday as they listen to interviews with high school juniors and seniors who visited the podcast studio as part of a campus preview initiative facilitated through faculty in the college. Themes in this episode include how the teacher prep academy facilitates experiences for future teachers as well as how many hope to be role models for future generations of students.

In this episode we hear directly from high school students in teacher preparation academies about what motivates them to pursue teaching as a career. Drs. Joe Gaston and Susan Ferguson welcome back to the show chair of the Department of Leadership and Teacher Education, Dr. Allan Allday, as they listen to interviews with high school juniors and seniors who visited the podcast studio as part of a campus preview initiative facilitated through faculty in the college. Themes in this episode include inspiration to become engaging educators, as students recount teachers who made life-changing impact in their lives, as well as wanting to be an encouragement to students in light of negative situations they faced.

Tune in as Dr. Angelia Bendolph shares her journey as a first generation college graduate who has made her mission serving students in P-12 through higher education and effecting change in government, engineering, and industrial arenas through human-centered/learner-centered design and solutions. From her early career as an engineer to her doctoral journey in Instructional Design, Dr. Bendolph's message that community and mentorship matter in the success of underrepresented populations in STEM professions, is one that will encourage and inspire.

The HEART Project (Health, Empowerment, and Recovery from Trauma) is a college campus based initiative for supporting victims of sexual assault through counseling and medical care. SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) program advocates serve as liaisons between victims and Title IX and law enforcement, as well as helping them navigate their emotions and rights post-assault. Dr. Candice Selwyn discuses how, through a grant, her team has been able to develop and extend the services provided through a partnership with medical, law enforcement, and counseling personnel to better attend to the needs of campus sexual assault victims. As one of only eight grantees in the county, Dr. Selwyn and her intern, Tristen Grantham, and SANE coordinator, Kat Loveless, share how this project may become a model for medical forensic care for other campuses. The team also emphasizes that free sexual assault care is available at both the student health center on campus and the freestanding ER adjacent to campus on Hillcrest.

The Heart Project is supported by a federal grant designated 2020-V3-GX-0164, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

More information about the HEART project can be found at:

https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/studenthealth/heartproject/

Hosts Drs. Joe Gaston and Susan Ferguson discuss the array of experiences that have guided Dr. Allan Allday along his journey of supporting children, family, and educators through behavioral interventions and perspective-keeping, both in the United States and abroad. Tune in as Dr. Allday optimistically talks about the role hope plays in the lives of families and children who have a variety of needs and behavior problems and who often lack support and encouragement from the education community. He also offers advice and considerations for educators who work with students with a variety of behavioral needs, as well as how teacher reactions to severe behavior issues play a role in both short term and long term student outcomes, with emphasis on the importance of relationship building and of viewing the child as a person rather than a problem. From his role as Department Chair in the College of Education and Professional Studies, Dr. Allday offers insight to the importance higher education faculty play in active community engagement.

What inspires people to be change careers and become K-12 teachers in STEM? Ramsey Willis, a local high school mathematics teacher and adjunct faculty member at the University of South Alabama, joins the hosts of 'Sincerely, South' to discuss the National Science Foundation Noyce Pathway to Mathematics II grant. As a recipient of an NSF Noyce Grant, Willis is one of more than 100 local educators who have launched their careers with the help of funding for graduate degrees in STEM education awarded to undergraduate STEM majors.

Tune in to learn about his inspiring journey from the business world to the head of the classroom! Host Dr. Joe Gaston is a Co-PI on the grant and coordinator of the technology connection for middle and high school educators. Co-Host Dr. Susan Ferguson is PI on the current grant and discusses how Noyce grants have had a positive impact on local and regional STEM education and how the recently funded grant incorporates rich experiences in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the STEM classroom. They are also joined by grant Co-PI and College of Education and Professional Studies Associate Dean Dr. Tres Stefurak, who is focused on teacher mental wellbeing.

Listen to the inspirational story that led Mr. Willis to education and learn how those interested in a career in STEM education can have their graduate degree funded through NSF Noyce at the University of South Alabama.

“Sincerely, South” meets STEM education in episode 16! Join host Dr. Joe Gaston as he meets with the University of South Alabama Noyce STREAM (Science Teacher, Research, Education and Methods) team about their newly-funded National Science Foundation grant that puts undergraduate science majors into middle and high school classrooms across the region. As a Noyce scholar, students receive a $40,000 scholarship, which includes funding for their graduate education and additional expenses. 

Learn how this four-semester program involves local school systems through mentorship, which in return has played a role in retaining teachers and promotes integrated science and math education in engaging ways that reach underserved and marginalized student populations. Hear from Dr. Katie McCorrison as she talks about the evolution of the University’s Noyce programs and how scholars now have the opportunity to participate in research through partnerships with graduate science and education faculty and local secondary teachers. Learn how Dr. David Forbes has reimagined advanced science coursework at the graduate level to enhance the experience of preservice teachers as they prepare to apply their content knowledge in their own classrooms in local schools. Meet Noyce graduate Pamela McPherson, now a tenured teacher at Baker High School in Mobile, as she discusses the program and its benefits to science majors who want to make an impact on our future leaders.

For more information about the STREAM program or to participate in the fall pre-residency program for spring admission, visit SouthAlabama.edu/NoyceSTREAM or contact Dr. McCorrison at [email protected]

Join Dr. Joe Gaston and Dr. Caitlyn Hauff as they discuss student athlete mental wellness with Clinical and Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student Kellen Hill. Informed by his own experience in athletics, Hill has been instrumental in providing mental wellness support for college athletes. Hear how the CHAMPS (Champions of Healthy Athletes for Mental Performance Strategies) initiative is removing the stigma associated with mental wellness through self care and mental health check-ins as part of their regular care programs.

Dr. John Hoyle is the president of the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, the state’s only fully public and residential high school for sophomores, juniors and seniors seeking advanced studies in math, science, computer science and the humanities. Tuition, room, and board are free. Hoyle says ASMS provides a "turbocharged STEM pipeline for the state." ASMS offers college-level academic and research experiences and values student leadership and leadership development. The school recently started the Jo Bonner Leadership Academy in honor of University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner, who previously served as school board chairman at ASMS. Hoyle earned a Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Development from the USA College of Education and Professional Studies in 2018. His work at ASMS currently focuses on preparing for the school's 30 year anniversary, the construction and funding of the E.O. Wilson Science Research Center, and recruiting new students, who may ultimately find jobs in the state's booming STEM industries.